How can you reduce your electricity bills? the first place you should look at is heating and cooling systems of your house. They eat up most of the energy you use in your house, and yet we all too often ignore it when all we need is to take a few simple steps to reduce the energy consumption by a third or even by half.
The first rule is that the less outside air gets into your house, the less energy you need to heat or cool it. Check if the doors and windows seal when you close them and repair any storm windows. Also pay attention to the house's attic and cellar - most of hot air escapes house through your attic and most of cold air gets in through the cellar. Another thing is setting your thermostat around four degrees more than usually in the summer and four less in the winter. You will notice little difference - but the bill will be around 5-10% lower.
Another thing is your heating and cooling system efficiency. Frequent maintenance and regularly replacing the filters in case of air conditioning systems will do a huge difference. Some systems operate at only half their initial efficiency unless regularly maintained. If your heating system is older than ten or fifteen years, you should seriously consider replacing it - the heating technology goes towards energy efficiency.
Keep your thermostat in the area of your house which is far away from any really hot or cold places. Otherwise you risk your thermostat to excessively heat or cool your house basing on false readings. You may reduce the risk by installing a programmable Energy Star rater thermostat, but it is much better to get it installed in another place.
There are also hundreds minor things you may want to do to reduce the energy consumption. Here are two examples. 1/Do not use a fireplace unless it is necessary. You may end up losing more energy through the chimney than a fireplace can give. Also, if you do not use a fireplace, keep the chimney close! 2/A heat pump is an excellent solution which makes your house feel comfortable during spring and autumn when heating and cooling systems aren't cost-effective.
In addition domestic wind turbines, solar panels and ground source heat pumps are expensive and take over ten years to recover your investment. Most homeowners are keen to introduce changes but are trapped by rising costs. With rising fuel cost, homeowners are likely to turn their heating down to save money. This could see the return of hypothermia amongst the elderly this winter.
There is a very effective way to save money and improve the efficiency of your boiler without excessive cost. Attach a magnet to the fuel feed pipe of your central heating burner and you immediately improve combustion. A good magnet cost ?65 plus postage but the benefits are enormous and long lasting.
The magnet conditions the gas or oil allowing it to mix better with air. The combustion is, therefore, improved. With better combustion, more energy is produced for the same fuel. If you are contemplating changing your boiler because it is inefficient or old, attach a magnet first and notice the excellent savings you will make. The more inefficient your boiler the more you save because the magnet will improve combustion to as near to 100% as you can get.
With improved combustion, the burner will need less servicing. In time the magnet will gradually clean the burner of deposited soot. Your service engineer may ask you if you used the burner since last serviced because it will be so clean. Your burner will last longer.
You save money on your domestic fuel bills, your maintenance and prolong the life of your boiler.
With Climate change a major issue, the magnet by providing a cleaner burn, will reduce harmful emission from your burner. This will be an important problem in time as governments tighten emission from domestic central heating systems. A magnet will help you comply with future changes in emission laws.
Even though you are still using fossil fuel, by attaching a magnet you are making efficient use of it.
In the past magnets were large and heavy but with new alloys, magnets are small, light and more powerful. A neodymium magnet of say 8000 gauss weigh 20 gms while the comparable Alnico magnet weighs 90 Kg. A neodymium magnet retains its magnetic properties for 100 years.
Magnets are easy to fit. Just identify the fuel pipe leading to the burner then attach to this pipe by straps and simply forget about it. The next thing you will do is turn the setting of your central heating system down because your home and your water will be hotter at that setting.
Magnets do not need maintenance. It will continue to be effective and when you move house, just remove it and attach it to the boiler in your new home.
With rising fuel cost, it makes sense to attach a magnet to your boiler this winter. You will recover your cost in no time.
If your grandparents or parents are likely to be affected this winter by the rising fuel cost, why don't you fit a magnet for them as a winter warmer present? Isn't it nice to know that they will turn the setting of their heating system down not to save money but because it is too hot?
Both Andrew John & Dr Phil Hariram are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Andrew John has sinced written about articles on various topics from Learn Hypnosis, Blood Pressure and Work From Home. Find out how to earn money by showing others how to inform people about reducing their utility bills at: and. Andrew John's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.
Dr Phil Hariram has sinced written about articles on various topics from . Dr.Phil Hariram is an Independent Ecoflow Distributor. He has cut his monthly direct debit heating bill for Calorgas(LPG) by 110% by attaching a Thermoflow magnet manufactured by Ecoflow, a innovative company that patented Central Reverse Polarity in magn. Dr Phil Hariram's top article . to your Favourites.